Re:

[tristan@blackhat.net]

I'm not entirely sure that the Mothers for Peace and Coalition for Peace

Justice and Butterflies would had much to do with the kneejerk reaction of

calling in Special Forces and federal officials to handle low-energy NORM

clay tiles.  I thought Jersey had a office of radiation control.  Ah well.





>Here's another example of Mom Nature acting up again.

>Let's get the Mother's for Peace and the Coalition for Peace, Justice, and

>Butterflies to immediately protest clay.

>

>

>

>Tiles suspected in ship radiation alert

>

>Clay from Spain believed responsible for elevated reading

>

>

>NBC, MSNBC AND NEWS SERVICES

>

>Sept. 12 - Clay tiles from Spain are believed to be the source of elevated

>radiation levels detected on a Liberian-flagged container ship that has been

>detained off the coast of New Jersey for several days, defense officials

>told NBC News on Friday.

>

>

> Clay tiles are known to emit low levels of radiation.

>

>         WHILE INDICATING that a final determination had not yet been made,

>the officials, who spoke with NBC News on condition of anonymity, said it

>appeared to be attributable to 15 containers of the tiles, which are known

>to emit low levels of radiation.

>       Special Operations forces dispatched to the M/V Palermo Senator were

>redeploying, the officials said, but it was unclear if the vessel had been

>cleared to return to port.

> The container ship M/V Palermo Senator, shown in a photo from the Web site

>of the Hamburg, Germany, shipping company that owns the vessel.

>          Pentagon officials told NBC News on Thursday that the vessel,

>which arrived in New York Harbor late Monday, was one of five searched upon

>arrival based on intelligence indicating that terrorists may be trying to

>bring nuclear material or a nuclear device into the United States.

>       After Coast Guard inspectors found unspecified "paperwork problems"

>and reported hearing some suspicious sounds in some of the vessel's cargo

>holds, it was ordered to Port Newark/Elizabeth Marine Terminal in New Jersey

>for further checks.

>

>           There, tests by Energy Department inspectors produced

>contradictory results, with one showing elevated radiation levels and

>another indicating normal levels.

>       The ship was ordered back to sea Wednesday for a definitive

>determination on whether any radioactive material was on board.

>       It was then boarded by members of the Energy Department's Nuclear

>Emergency Search Team and Special Operations forces with specialized

>equipment capable of examining the contents of the ship's 655 containers

>without opening them.

> Advertisement

>

>

>

>

>

>         The NEST squad was established in 1974 to seek out and dismantle

>"improvised nuclear devices," but has been used over the years to

>investigate suspicious radiological sources.

>       The Palermo Senator is owned by the firm Reederei F. Laeisz of

>Hamburg, Germany, and regularly plies the route between New York and the Far

>East.

>       Its last port of call was Valencia, Spain, but in the past several

>weeks it stopped and picked up cargo in a number of ports, including Bandar

>Abbas, Iran; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and Karachi, Pakistan.

>

>       MSNBC.com's Mike Brunker; NBC's Tammy Kupperman, Jim Miklaszewski and

>Robert Windrem; and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

>

>Mark O. Somerville

>Certified Health Physicist

>Registered Environmental Assessor

>Diablo Canyon Power Plant

>(805) 545-4007

>mailto: mos3@pge.com

>

>

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